Halloween

noun

Hal·​low·​een ˌha-lə-ˈwēn  ˌhä- 

variants or less commonly Hallowe'en

: October 31 observed especially with dressing up in disguise, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns during the evening

Examples of Halloween in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Juno Temple’s character Dot nearly clobbers Gator with a nail bat — an object often associated with your Stranger Things character Steve Harrington — during their Halloween brawl in episode 4. —EW.com, 7 June 2024

In the past, Halloween Horror Nights has drawn inspiration from other beloved film and TV shows — including Stranger Things, The Last of Us and even one based on musical superstar The Weeknd. —Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 6 June 2024

Historically, some of the biggest geomagnetic storms—like the one on Halloween in 2003—have occurred just after the maximum passed. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2024

Beyond the Halloween convention, people who liked to cross-dress often visited the house on weekends and holidays, and were welcome to take all of their meals there, or help with the gardening. —Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 6 June 2024

Bousman and his dad had a yearly tradition where the two would head to the West Bottoms every Halloween and wait in line to visit each haunted house. —Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2024

The mom also makes the most of every holiday, doing adorable photo shoots with Leodis, including for Halloween and Easter. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 3 June 2024

Lisa Morton, who is a six-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author and the world’s living expert on Halloween (and ghosts and seances), works there, as does horror writer Sean Patrick Travers. —Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2024

Loading your audio article At the end of almost any show these days, theater audiences rise for an obligatory standing ovation as if the doorbell just rang and the last Halloween candy needs doling out. —Christopher Smith, Orange County Register, 30 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for All Hallow Even (All Saints' Eve)

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Halloween

noun

Hal·​low·​een ˌhal-ə-ˈwēn  ˌhäl- 

: October 31 celebrated especially by wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns

Etymology

an altered form of All Hallow Even, the eve of All Saints' Day

Word Origin

Modern-day Christians know the first of November as All Saints' Day. In the Middle Ages it was called All Hallow Day. This was a hallowed or holy day celebrated in honor of all the saints in heaven. Since November 1 was a special holy day with a special name, the day before it had a special name as well. October 31 was called All Hallow Eve or All Hallow Even. The words eve and even were used both for the evening and the day before a special day. This name was sometimes written All Hallow E'en and later shortened to Halloween.